Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK Desktop Review

By Tech For Pennies

December 31, 2015

Psst... Click image for the best price on Amazon.com!

Getting a desktop instead of laptop might make sense if you want better bang for your buck: as the components have to be made smaller and crammed in a compact shell, notebooks as a result cost more. Desktops, on the other hand, are much bigger and can accommodate larger (thus cheaper) components. Here are my thoughts on the seemingly powerful Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK…

The good

It’s an excellent, excellent processor in this Dell. The chip is called Intel Core i7-6700, it’s a 6th generation quad-core unit with high frequencies: a 3.4GHz base and 4.0GHz turbo. Compared to other processors, it beats like 99% of them, CPU Mark test gives the i7-6700 around 9900 points. The processor is extremely fast one and can be used for demanding work like image and video editing no problem.

Memory is pretty good in Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK, it has 8GB DDR4 (2133MHz) type installed. The configuration is two 4GB sticks, but there are still two free slots if you want to upgrade. The maximum RAM seems to be 32GB, and that is achievable with four 8GB sticks.

There are plenty of ports in this desktop, 6 USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 to begin with. Also a lot of video outputs are available: two HDMI, one DVI-D, one VGA and one DisplayPort, so dual monitor setup is supported. Networking consists of 1000Mbps RJ-45 adapter and 802.11n WiFi with Bluetooth.

The neutral

I can recommend Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK for casual gamers, but perhaps not for the hardcore ones. There’s a dedicated graphics card GeForce GT730 (2GB GDDR3) installed, not even close to beefier GTX9xx series but still around two times faster than integrated units. You’re able to play most games, however not every title runs with full settings and 1080p. For example, 1920×1080 and normal settings on GTA 5 will give you around 20FPS, but lowering to 720p adds extra 10FPS. On the other hand, the lighter League of Legends will run smooth using ultra settings and 1080p.

The PSU is 460W and it supports dedicated graphics cards up to GeForce GTX960, so you can definitely install one if you wish.

Check out what other people are saying about this desktop on Amazon.com.

An optical drive with CD/DVD reading and burning capabilities is included. So is a multi-format media card reader.

The bad

Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK sadly doesn’t have a solid-state drive, instead it relies on a 1TB 7200RPM SATA 3 hard drive. But for sure there’s space for more: two free 3.5″ bays and one M.2 connector on the mainboard are available. Hence, installing SSD yourself is a piece of cake, but getting one in the first place will of course cost you extra.

There’s no display included, you must get that separately. Keyboard and mouse are however shipped.

Summing it up

Dell XPS x8900-1444BLK is an useful power user oriented desktop – all heavier software like Photoshop and VMWare work flawlessly here. One can also use this computer for gaming, provided you don’t require full settings and smooth frame rates on every game. The selection of ports is good, there should be enough of those to accommodate every peripheral you might have. The only weak point would the hard drive, but that can be fixed if you have extra money to buy SSD and install it. Other than that, the desktop looks great and it should be worth the money.